"Our findings indicate that core fibre and switching/routing resources will scale nicely to support virtually any conceivable user demand," said the Nemertes report.

"But Internet access infrastructure, specifically in North America, will cease to be adequate for supporting demand within the next three to five years."

"We estimate that the financial investment required by access providers to 'bridge the gap' between demand and capacity ranges from $42bn to $55bn, or roughly 60 to 70 percent more than service providers currently plan to invest."

The slowdown could seriously impact the next generation of media rich online services, not to forget that it will also be a set-back to businesses. A much greater fall out would be the division created among those who can afford faster services and those who can't.